CHICAGO, IL and LEEDS, UNITED KINGDOM – February 16, 2014
GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced that it has acquired Callcredit Information Group Limited (“Callcredit” or the “Company”) in partnership with its management team. Callcredit is a leading provider of consumer credit data solutions and software and analytics services in the United Kingdom. GTCR is partnering with CEO John McAndrew, Managing Director Graham Lund, and the rest of Callcredit’s existing management team to invest behind a growing, highly recurring technology-enabled business with significant opportunities for value enhancement.

Founded in 2000 within Skipton Building Society, Callcredit is a leading credit reference and marketing services provider for over 3,000 customers, including the UK’s largest financial institutions and organizations in the alternative lending, insurance, telecom, utilities and public sectors, among others. The Company’s innovative data solutions and software and analytics services enable real-time credit reporting and scoring, multi-bureau decisioning analysis, loan affordability assessments, customer account monitoring and management, identify verification and fraud protection. In addition, Callcredit provides consumer marketing solutions that facilitate effective marketing campaigns, as well as direct-to-consumer credit reports that allow individuals to monitor and improve their personal credit profiles.

Since its establishment 14 years ago, Callcredit has grown rapidly through UK lenders’ increased use of credit data and software and analytics tools, as well as emerging demand for credit data solutions and analytics in areas such as insurance and alternative lending. The Company has grown due to its product innovation as well as flexible, robust technology and high-quality customer service.

“We are delighted to partner with John McAndrew and the Callcredit management team,” said Collin Roche, Managing Director at GTCR. “We believe that Callcredit is well positioned to continue its growth and success within the rapidly evolving areas of consumer credit and data analytics, and we look forward to supporting John’s vision of building the leading company in this segment. GTCR looks forward to supporting continued product innovation and investment while pursuing opportunities for expansion, geographically and through acquisitions.”

“I am confident that, in GTCR, Callcredit has found the ideal partner to support its ongoing mission of enabling smarter decisions,” stated CEO John McAndrew. “This new partnership will ensure that Callcredit maintains the agility and customer-focused culture that have underpinned its success to-date, while empowering us to continue to provide our clients with more innovative data solutions. GTCR’s strong financial backing and its experience in the UK and global financial services and technology markets will help realize our vision for Callcredit.”

Aaron Cohen, Managing Director at GTCR, added: “The acquisition of Callcredit underscores GTCR’s extensive experience in the financial technology and data analytics sectors. Moreover, the transaction demonstrates our commitment to leveraging the domain expertise and relationships that our firm has developed in the United Kingdom, specifically around the implications of evolving software, data and analytics, consumer credit and regulatory trends.”

The acquisition of Callcredit was supported by a consortium of leading banking institutions. GE Capital, HSBC and Lloyds Bank arranged senior financing, while Crescent Capital provided a mezzanine facility. DC Advisory and HSBC advised GTCR on the transaction, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel. GTCR’s investment in Callcredit was funded from GTCR Fund X, a private equity fund raised in 2011 with $3.25 billion of equity capital commitments.

About Callcredit Information Group
Founded in 2000, Callcredit provides innovative consumer data and software and analytics solutions to help businesses make smarter, more informed decisions throughout the customer lifecycle. Callcredit’s customers include leading UK companies, such as all of the clearing banks, several major international lenders, media communications businesses, and petroleum, automotive, power and retail organizations. Callcredit is headquartered in Leeds, England, UK and employs approximately 1,000 professionals in Leeds, Hatfield, Kent, Bath, London, Swindon and Warrington. The company has international offices in Kaunas, Lithuania; Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China; and Dubai, UAE. For more information, visit www.callcredit.co.uk

About GTCR
Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies in the Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Information Services & Technology industries. The Chicago-based firm pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $10 billion in over 200 companies. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com